Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State. I have a reply in front of me and perhaps he could give clarification. It says that the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, signed a regulation yesterday. If that is the case, I welcome that. I also welcome the reply the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, has just given and again acknowledge the Department's efforts to improve driving tests overall. As the Minister of State knows, this issue has been flagged repeatedly by the RSA and by the transport committee, of which, as he said, I am Chair, but more importantly by the public and road victims advocacy groups, in particular Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Care, PARC. The commitment dates back to 2014 but we still have a situation where tens of thousands of drivers can legally stay on the road without ever proving they are competent to drive. Some of those 60,000 are in receipt of learner permits on more than 20 occasions.

The Minister of State might give clarification on the timeline. As I said, the reply in front of me said the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, signed this yesterday, which I really welcome. Is there any further clarity around any transitional arrangements? I know the RSA published its action plan to reduce waiting times back in May. I suggest now that this action plan is updated with this significant additional load of 60,000. It is really important that we maintain waiting times at around ten weeks and that capacity in the system to do 7,200 tests on a weekly basis.

On the issue of no-shows, can the Minister outline what measures are being considered to reduce the rate of missed tests? As I said, there were 1,000 missed tests in July and another 1,000 in August. I am still waiting for the figures for September. Will it be through improved notifications, rescheduling, flexibility or perhaps penalties for repeated absences? Again, this is not about punishment. It is ensuring that the learner system works as intended, that it promotes good driving habits and that it protects all road users. It is about implementation. I welcome that either the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, signed the regulations yesterday or that the signing of the regulation is imminent. The RSA is ready. It is time to act now.

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